The best photo editing software

August 19, 2024

Each software has its own strengths, so the best choice depends on your specific needs, budget, and how much time you’re willing to spend learning the tools. Let’s take a look at the best photo editing software according to PCMag.

Photopea

Photopea is a free, web-based photo editor that’s gaining popularity for its impressive range of features. You can start editing right away without needing to create an account or sign in, though creating an account can be useful for saving your work.

Phase One Capture One Pro

Capture One is highly regarded in the photography industry for its powerful features and exceptional image quality, making it a top choice for serious photographers and professionals. Capture One Pro is praised for its ability to handle raw files with high fidelity, offering detailed control over color grading, exposure, and more.

Corel PaintShop Pro

Corel PaintShop Pro offers a strong set of tools and features for photo editing and design at a reasonable price. Its interface is accessible to both beginners and experienced users, with plenty of tutorials available. It includes a wide range of editing tools such as cropping, straightening, color correction, and retouching. It supports both raster and vector graphics, providing flexibility in design.

Skylum Luminar Neo

Skylum Luminar Neo is a modern photo editing software designed to simplify and enhance the photo editing process with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI) tools and intuitive user interfaces. It is a strong choice for users who want to leverage AI technology to streamline their photo editing workflow while still enjoying a range of creative tools and effects.

CyberLink PhotoDirector

CyberLink is a comprehensive photo editing and management software that caters to both casual and professional photographers. It combines advanced editing tools with creative features and is known for its intuitive interface and robust functionality. The inclusion of AI tools simplifies complex editing tasks and enhances photo quality with minimal manual effort.

Adobe Lightroom

Lightroom is a highly versatile and powerful tool for photo editing and management. Its extensive feature set, combined with cloud integration and AI-powered tools, makes it a top choice for both professional photographers and serious enthusiasts. Lightroom allows you to make adjustments to your photos without altering the original files.

DxO PhotoLab

DxO PhotoLab is a robust photo editing software known for its advanced raw processing and powerful correction tools. It’s especially popular among professional photographers and enthusiasts who value high-quality image adjustments. DxO’s proprietary noise reduction technology, DeepPrime, excels at removing noise while preserving detail and color.

Adobe Photoshop Elements

Photoshop Elements is a streamlined version of Adobe Photoshop designed for hobbyists and casual users who want powerful photo editing tools without the complexity and cost of the full Photoshop application. It offers a range of features that make it accessible and user-friendly while still providing robust editing capabilities.

Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop is the industry standard for professional photo editing and graphic design. Known for its extensive features and advanced capabilities, it provides tools that cater to a wide range of editing needs. It is a top choice for high-quality photo editing and design projects.

Adobe Lightroom Classic

Lightroom Classic is a desktop-based photo editing and management software specifically designed for professional photographers and serious enthusiasts who need powerful tools for organizing, editing, and managing large collections of images. It is part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite but operates independently from Adobe Lightroom (the cloud-based version).